The Beginning of Forever
by d.roarke
Summary: *Spoilers for the season 5 finale* Yes, another finale fic, but my first post-finale. What I would like to happen, because it made me very happy until the screen faded to black... Thanks to all who review! *CHAPTER 2 IS NOW UP*
1. Chapter 1

**AN: A proposal for the post-proposal, because I think that it was big, and intimate, and if Rick was willing to risk his heart, then it is time for Kate to dive on in.**

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Kate couldn't take her eyes off the ring. A tear ran down her face. Then another.

"Kate. Please say something."

Finally, she looked up into those solemn blue eyes.

"I thought-I thought that you were breaking up with me. I thought that you were getting up so that you could walk away."

"I will never do that." Rick wiped the tears away. "Never again. I have never wanted to walk away from you."

"You would move to D.C. with me? This job-It would mean a lot of travel. It's not a good bet for relationships."

"I know. But we can work it out. We've worked through much more than a difficult schedule, Kate. We can do this, too."

Castle wiped away another tear as she kept looking at him, as if trying to read his thoughts.

"You don't look happy."

Castle laughed a little. "You haven't given me an answer yet."

"I want to know... Are you just asking me so that you won't lose me?"

"No." Castle dropped his hands. "Kate. If that's all I wanted, I would just tell you that I'm here for you. That I'll stand by you. I'd remind you that I have money and a job that I could perform from anywhere in the world. This... This is me... this is me telling you what I want for myself, and for us. This is me terrified that you might not want what I do. I've decided that time is too precious, and that you are too precious to me, to keep on playing it safe. It's time to rock the boat."

He took her hand now. His eyes, still nervous, were now warm and loving, too. "Kate. I love you, more than I have ever loved. I want you forever in my present and in my future. I want, if you do, too, to have children together. And I want you to know that, no matter what the future holds, I will be there, right at your side. I love you, Kate. So I'll ask again. Will you be my wife?"

More tears. "Yes." "Yes," Kate sobbed, this time. "I love you, too. And yes."

Castle smiled then, brighter than the sun. He lifted the ring. "May I do the honors?"

Kate sniffed, and raised her left hand. "Yes."

Kate stared at the ring as he put it on her ring finger. Castle adjusted it, then looked up, framing her face with his hands. "Oh, Kate."

Kate grinned, and stood up, pulling him into a kiss.

"I-Oh my God," Kate said, crying and laughing at once. Castle kissed her again and drew her in for a hug, rocking her back and forth.

"Kate. Thank you. I love you. God, I love you."

Kate sniffed and pulled back. She kissed him once more. "Rick, I-I was offered the job. I accepted it."

"Okay. Congratulations! You really deserve it."

"Rick.."

"We'll work it out. When do you start? When.."

"Rick..."

"It's okay, Kate. I mean it. We can start looking for a place in D.C. I'll talk to Paula..."

"Rick?"

"Hmm?"

"I accepted, but I think... I think that I'm going to call and tell them that I changed my mind."

"What? I thought..."

"Rick. This has been such a hard decision for me. I wish I hadn't kept it from you. I could really have used your advice. A few years ago, I would have jumped at this chance. But now, my...heart, i guess, keeps telling me not to go. I don't mean because of you, or just you. Leaving you was never something that I wanted, Castle. But the Precinct is my home. You, Ryan and Esposito, Lanie... you are my family. And everyone keeps telling me how great I am, but I keep thinking that a lot of my successes are because of my team. Because of how well we all work together."

"But Kate. You were amazing before I met you. You have always been great at your job."

"Thank you. But I'm better with you. In so many ways, Castle, I'm better. Does that make sense?"

Castle nodded. "I think that you can do anything. But I understand what you're saying. I'm better with you, too. But don't let that keep you back, Kate. You could try the job for a while."

"I know."

"I'm sure Gates would take you back if you changed your mind down the road."

Kate smiled. "Probably. She might even let you come back, too."

Castle laughed. "Or I could call the Mayor."

"Yeah. But you see, I think that this decision has been so hard because that life, the life that this job offers, it's not what I want anymore. Remember Jordan Shaw? She has a daughter. I asked her about that. She said that it's hard to have a family with that kind of life. She misses her husband, and her husband tucks their daughter in at night. It works for her, mostly, but it's not what I want. Not anymore. I want to know that when the day is done, I'm going home. I want to tuck my children in, with you."

"That sounds very nice. If that's what you really want."

"I think that it is. And maybe, someday, another job opportunity will come up. It's not like I have to decide to stay at the precinct forever. But for now, I think that, maybe, I just needed to know that you want this-want us-no matter what I choose. And that you really do want a life with me."

"I do."

Kate laughed. "Save that for later. A long while later, okay? We still need to work on communication."

"Agreed."

"And maybe we can get to a point where you don't feel like you have to chip away at that wall."

"Kate. I'm sorry. Maybe that wasn't the best thing for me to say."

"You weren't altogether wrong, Castle. I know that. And I'm sorry. I wasn't keeping secrets to hurt you. I really didn't mean to hurt you."

"I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry that you didn't know that I wanted forever. That I made you wonder at all. Because I always have wanted forever with you, Kate. For a very long time, now, I've wanted forever with you."

Kate smiled up at him. "Same goes. You know, I think that Gates will let me take the rest of the day off. Maybe you could come to my place? I happen to have an uneaten meal waiting in the fridge. It got a little tainted, I think, but I bet we can make it right."

"Katherine Beckett? That was downright poetic."

Kate nudged his shoulder. "Shut up."

"Make me."

Kate looked at the ring on her hand, and then up into the eyes of her future. Then she leaned in for a kiss. And made him speechless.


	2. Chapter 2

On the walk to her apartment, Kate couldn't stop smiling. As they passed a flower stand, Castle stopped to buy her a bouquet of daisies, and she grinned even more.

Castle smiled at her. "You're happy."

"Yeah," said Kate. "This morning, I wasn't sure I ever would be. Not really. But now, I am. Really, really happy."

"I'm glad." Castle hesitated. "Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"If this is what you wanted," he said, gesturing between the two of them. "Why didn't you just ask?"

Kate looked sheepish. "I tried, once."

"When?"

"That night, after the Erik Vaughn case. When you had set up the room for a massage, and I asked where we were going. And you said…"

"The bedroom."

"Yeah. 'The bedroom.' Not exactly what I meant."

"You can't seriously believe that I was ignoring you, can you?" Castle pleaded. "I was trying to make up for a day that was rough for both of us. I was preoccupied, worried about you, especially because I had thought, for a terrifying moment, that you had been shot. I had no reason to think that you were asking about the future of our relationship at that point."

"Well, you didn't really think that I was wondering what room we were headed towards, did you?"

"Honestly, Kate? I wasn't putting much thought into the question. I thought we were on the same page. If you had wanted to talk, I wish you had made it clear."

"One track mind, huh?"

"That's not fair."

Kate sighed. "No, it's not. You're right. I was being cryptic. Less than cryptic."

"'Less than cryptic?' Is that even a thing?"

Kate nudged his arm. "Yeah. But you're right. You couldn't have known what I was talking about. I don't think that I actually wanted to talk about our future just then. It's just that, well, Vaughn put some ideas in my head. He asked where our relationship was headed."

"Wait. Yours and mine? That's really none of his business."

"No, it's not. Looking back, I think he just wanted to seduce me..."

"You think?" Interrupted Castle. "There's an understatement."

"He just got me thinking, Castle. That's the point. Anyway, it _was_ a difficult day, and I don't think that I was really up for a serious discussion. So that's why I didn't push."

"And you liked the thought of a candlelit massage."

Kate smiled. "Well, yes. Who wouldn't."

"Still. I would have talked to you about it, you know."

"I know. I'm glad we didn't talk that night, though. My thoughts might have been all over the place."

Castle stopped, and pulled them over into an alcove. "Kate… I get that. I do. But if we had talked about it that night, or the next morning maybe? Something like that, we probably could have avoided so much of what we've been through these last couple of days."

"Maybe."

"Probably."

"Would we be engaged now, though? Or would that have happened sometime later."

"Um. Well. If you had asked me about my intentions? I would probably have grabbed the ring out of my safe and asked you then."

Kate looked surprised. "You had the ring then? You didn't just buy it today?"

"I've had it for a while, Kate. I just wasn't sure when to ask you. You … well, you kind of ran away the first two times that I told you I love you. I had no idea how you would react to a marriage proposal."

Kate grimaced. "I'm sorry."

"Hey," Castle said, lifting her chin. "No more apologies, okay? I'm as much at fault for not being brave enough to ask you about our future."

When she smiled, he kissed her.

"I'm glad you faced those fears," she said.

Castle smiled and kissed her ring this time. "Me, too. But next time? Say, when one of us wants to set a wedding date, or elope, or buy a house? Let's agree to sit down and talk about it. This ring? It means we're in it for the long haul. There's no reason to be scared anymore. Okay?"

"Yes, Castle. We'll talk." She looked up at him. "A house? Don't you want to stay in the loft?"

"I'm more than happy to stay in the loft. But maybe you'll decide that you want to live in a house, or get a different apartment. Or I'll want a yard to hybridize roses."

"Roses?"

"Yeah. Just think. The _Beckett Rose_. Or the ruggedly handsome _Castle Rose_."

"Really, Castle? It sounds like you've put some thought into this."

"Well, yeah. A little. More a rooftop garden sort of thing though. Anyway, the point is, if one of us wants to talk about something, we need to drop what we're doing, sit down, and talk about it."

"Okay. Yeah, okay."

"What do you think about the roses?" Castle asked.

"I think it's … an interesting thought. Do you know anything about hybridizing flowers?"

"No. Not really. I just think it would be cool."

"Well, if you want to go into the floral business, Castle, you have my support."

"Thank you," Castle said, cheerfully, as he opened up the door to her apartment building.

"A ruggedly handsome rose, huh?"

"Yep," he said. "Completely irresistible."

They headed up to Kate's apartment, and then started warming up the food.

"I feel bad," Kate said. "I told the boys that I had to talk to them, after I talked to you. They know something's up. I didn't mean to leave them worried."

Grabbing a phone from the counter, Castle said, "Here. Give them a call while I finish this up."

"Thanks."

She contacted Ryan. "Hey, Kevin, it's Beckett. Is Javi there, too?"

"Yep. Let me put you on speaker," Ryan said.

"Hey, Beckett. What's up? Gates said you're not coming in until tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Castle and I are having dinner at my place."

"Castle's there? You made up?" Asked Esposito.

"Yeah." She put herself on speaker. "Say hi, Castle. I think they're afraid that I killed you off."

"Hey guys," Castle called from across the kitchen. "No need to call in the dogs!"

"Hey Castle! So, Kate…is everything okay now?"

"Everything is okay. I'm just tired."

"Kate?" Said Ryan. "That's normal, you know. To feel tired. Sometimes you just need extra sleep. Are you feeling nauseous? Because Jenny…"

Kate and Rick looked at each other in confusion as the sound of a slap on the head and Esposito's mumbled "she's not pregnant, man!" came clearly though the speaker.

Castle choked.

Kate nearly did the same.

"What? Guys. I'm not pregnant. Why on Earth…"

"I'm sorry. Kate. Really. Jenny's pregnant," said Ryan.

"Oh! Congratulations!" Said Castle.

"That's great!" Kate said.

"Thanks."

"But now Ryan seems to think that anyone acting strange must be pregnant."

"Hey, now. I didn't think Castle was pregnant!"

"Ha, ha," they heard Esposito say, while they looked at the phone in wonder.

"No, no. Guys. Guys!" Kate yelled, as Esposito and Ryan continued their banter.

"Sorry. So, you're okay, Kate?"

"Yes. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, but I interviewed for a job in D.C. Stark recommended me for the position. I've been considering the offer, but I've decided not to take it."

"Man, Beckett. We'd miss you, but are you sure? I bet that would be an awesome job."

"I am sure," Kate said. Looking over and catching Castle's eye, she added, "I have something more awesome here. Look, we'll talk more tomorrow. I just wanted you to know that there is nothing to worry about. We're fine here."

"Okay. Cool," said Esposito.

"Congratulations again, Kevin," said Kate.

"Yeah, thanks! We're excited," said Ryan. "So, we'll see you tomorrow. Both of you?"

Castle leaned over. "Yes, guys. Both of us."

After they finished their meal, Castle and Kate sat down with some wine. "You know, I've always liked that painting," Castle said, gesturing to the wall.

As Castle looked over at Kate, she blushed.

"Umm…"

Curious, Castle gave her a smug smile. "Yes, Kate? What's got you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing!"

At Castle's look, she rolled her eyes. "Okay. Um. I know that we just made one commitment. Maybe two might be too much…"

"No, this is good. What's on your mind?"

"It's just that my lease on this apartment is up in July."

"Oh!"

"And, well, I seem to spend more time at the loft than here anyway."

Castle put his glass down, gently. "True."

Gaining more confidence, Kate teased, "And I may have been leaving more and more of my things at your loft lately."

"I've noticed…"

Kate looked at him. "You're going to make me work for this? Really?"

Castle grinned, and took her hand.

"Katherine Houghton Beckett. Will you move in with me?"

"Hmm," Kate said, looking coy. "I don't know…"

Castle scooted closer, and kissed her cheek.

"Please?"

Kate pulled back, teasingly. "Maybe…"

Castle moved his hand to the back of her neck, and nuzzled behind her ear.

"You can have _all_ the space that you want…" He whispered.

"Really?" She said, moaning a little as he placed kisses down her neck.

"Really," he said, moving up the other side of her neck.

"Well, if you insist," she said, taking his mouth for a long kiss. "One thing though."

"Hmm?" He said, already getting lost in her. "Anything."

She started to lower herself down in the couch, and he followed.

"I don't always want a lot of space."


End file.
